Patty Schnyder will turn 39-years-old later this year and many people who follow WTA tennis will surely have forgotten her as she retired a number of years ago. However the former top-ten player is in the qualifying draw for the final Grand Slam of the year. Moreover Schnyder is on the order of play for Wednesday at Flushing Meadows. She'll be looking to get back into a Grand Slam's main draw this week for the first time since 2011 and into the US Open specifically for the first time since 2010.
The Swiss has played well in New York before
The former quarterfinalist at Flushing Meadows has participated in ITF events for most of this season.
She has little to show for her efforts, often picking up pocket change for ranking points here and there. However she did make the final of an ITF event in Germany earlier this season. Furthermore, Schnyder nabbed a win in the main draw of Gstaad not long ago to add a tour-level win to her season. All added up, she is into the top 200 and that's good enough for a non-seed in the women's qualifying draw from New York. A lot of her ranking points have been earned on the clay-court surface so perhaps a good run in the quallies should not be expected.
But on Wednesday Schnyder will face one Ysaline Bonaventure in the first round of women's qualifying. Bonaventure will be 23-years-old soon, she has never appeared in a Grand Slam singles main draw, and she probably doesn't like having to play a player that has been to a Grand Slam semifinal before (Schnyder made the semifinals of the 2004 Australian Open).
But Bonaventure, a Belgium national, does outrank Schnyder at this point and the Swiss player has numerous losses to players of low rank this season.
Schnyder stands out on Wednesday
However with Wednesday's schedule filled with players that are trying to make names for themselves, Schnyder is the standout of already established talent.
She made a name for herself in the late 1990's and during the first decade of this century. Twenty years after making her debut at Flushing Meadows, Schnyder will be looking to get back into the main draw. She retired in 2011 and it seemed like a permanent thing for years so it is a bonus for her fans to see her name anywhere near a major.
In men's singles there is another former bright light scheduled for action. Former World No. 12 Paul-Henri Mathieu is scheduled for Wednesday action as well. The French player, now 35 years old, will be looking to get back into the draw after missing last season's tournament for the first time since 2001. The main draw for the US Open will start on the 28th of this month with the main draw to be released late this week.
